Ardor for The Devil
by Lovable Ange
Summary: Mina reflects on her feelings for Dorian, and when she gets a visitor she realizes that she can't blame herself for loving such a scumbag. Better Summary inside. Read and Review.


Title: Ardor for The Devil  
  
Rating: G (There's no real bad things in here. Everyone can read it.)  
  
Description: Mina reflects her feelings for Dorian, and she gets a visitor that reminds her that she shouldn't keep dragging herself down for loving such a deceitful person.  
  
Mina sat in the drawing room of her rather large mansion. Her eyes were fixated on the north wall of the room. There was a particular reason that she stared, though. The porcelain teacup that was held in Mina's hands had turned cold hours ago, and when she took a sip of it, her face shift from blank to a little shock.  
  
She set the cup down and stood. She moved over to the wall that she was staring at. There hung nothing on the plain wall except a beautiful portrait of a beautiful man. The painting was enough décor for the wall. Or that's what Mina thought, at least. She ran her fingers across the rough paint.  
  
The man in it was a truly ravishing creature. The curvature of his jaw, his smooth, milky, white skin, and his rosy lips were enough to melt anyone's heart. Add his neatly tousled chestnut hair and the dark mysterious eyes, and the result was the most gorgeous man ever to walk into Mina Harker's life.  
  
Mina's late husband was handsome and so was the charming Dracula, but neither could compare to Dorian Gray. It wasn't only his looks that attracted Mina to him, but his stunning intellect and his searing stare. That same stare was captured in the canvas before her.  
  
She loved this picture almost as much as she loved the man painted in the picture. She knew that Dorian never loved her like she loved him, but something inside of him cared for her. He loved her even as he pierced her chest, staking her to the bed on that fateful day.  
  
Mina's eyes turned away from the picture. It had only been a couple of days since she'd arrived home. She wouldn't let anyone know that she brought the painting with her. Dorian had betrayed every single person that traveled home on the Nautilus; she couldn't let them know that she was being so sentimental with his likeness.  
  
Allan Quartermaine had died because of him. Though she strongly disliked the old hunter, he was The League's designated leader. He didn't proclaim himself leader, everyone else looked up to him , and they followed him. If it weren't for Dorian, Allan would probably still be living and telling Mina that adventuring was much too dangerous for a woman. Dorian gave The League away. He set them up to walk into M's trap.  
  
She returned her eyes to the brown, white, and pale peach paint that made up his eyes and she sighed a bit. She licked her lips as she ran her fingers across the art work once more. She would eventually give the picture away to a random person, who, like Mina and the man who painted the portrait had been, would be entranced by his features.  
  
The vampire leaned against the wall. In her heart she hated him, but she still loved him. Her love overcame the extreme repugnance she felt towards him. Hatred. The emotion made her feel dirty. How could one person hold so much loving passion for someone, yet loathe them like this? Mina could not find the answer within herself. All she knew was that she loved him, cursed him, praised him, and despised him all at once.  
  
She murmured his name under her breath and she ran her long, slender fingers through her rust-colored hair. The sheer insanity of hanging on to the portrait was enough to make her feel very stupid. She felt crazy for loving him so. She had to get rid of the portrait. She needed something to keep her mind off of him. Something to...  
  
There was a knock at her door and she pulled the painting down from the wall. She stashed it behind a tall armoire, as if to hide her addiction from who ever could be at the door. She pulled her black silk robe together over the matching night gown and she combed her fingers through her hair again. Who would be calling at this hour of the night? Who stayed up late as she did?  
  
She approached her front door and opened it to see Tom Sawyer standing there with a bouquet of roses clutched in his hand. It had been raining and Tom was soaked all over. His clothes, his hair, his pants and the roses were all dripping water. A quirky smile spread across his lips and his eyes glimmered with youth and wonder. Mina nodded at him and stepped aside for him to walk in.  
  
"Good evening, Mina," He said in a polite voice, his southern twang filling the room. Water dripped onto the rug that was at the foot of the door. He closed the door behind him and offered the drenched flowers to Mina  
  
"It's a surprise to see you here, Tom," She said, taking the flowers, "I thought you'd headed back to America?" She cocked a brow at him and took in the sweet aroma of the roses Tom had brought her.  
  
"Nah. I thought I'd sight-see a bit before leaving," He replied, taking of his soggy jacket. He looked around for a place to put it and looked to Mina, his tooth biting his lip.  
  
"Oh..." She took the jacket and opened the door to a coat-closet. She put it on a hanger and nestled it among many dry coats, jackets and shalls. She shut the door and remained silent for a moment.  
  
Tom looked down to her and his smile remained on his lips. He was quite intriguing too. He had a different type of allure than Dorian had. Mina couldn't put her finger on why she liked the southern young man. She just did.  
  
She snapped out of it and shook her head a bit. She cleared her throat and asked, "Does The League need me?"  
  
"No thank you, ma'am," He said, "I just came to talk to you."  
  
"Talk to me?" Mina asked in reply. She was quite puzzled. What could he possibly talk to her about? She walked in to the drawing room, followed by Tom and set the roses in an empty vase that stood on a decorative table.  
  
"Yeah. I thought maybe we could talk, and maybe we could get something to eat?" he asked in a light tone. He turned his eyes around the room and they fell upon the empty north wall. He elevated an eyebrow in a stumped manner. He set his eyes on Mina. "Why is this wall empty?"  
  
Mina was flustered by the question and she pressed her lips together. She replied, "I don't know. I guess I over decorated the rest of the room, and I ran out of things to put there."  
  
"You put his picture there, didn't you?" Tom asked with a sort of hopeless smile. He lowered his eyebrow and looked at the nail sticking out of the middle of the wall. He flicked it with his index finger.  
  
"Well...I...uh...yes," She stammered. She felt a slight blush creep across her cheeks. The fact that he guessed it was mortifying. What would he think? Would he out-cast her because she still had feelings for the turncoat? She gulped a bit and waited for his reply.  
  
"Hmm," Tom hummed, "I guess you really did like him, huh?" He leaned against the wall and his eyes fell on Mina. He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head a bit.  
  
"Yes," She said, "but I'm starting to get over him."  
  
"It's hard to get over someone that you loved, Mina," he said. Though Tom Sawyer was young, he was still wise.  
  
"I know," She breathed, "It is hard. He left a mark on me that I cannot get rid of, Tom."  
  
"He hurt you, and I don't think that is the type of person you should love," He said, "but that's just me. You love who you loved. You can't stop it. So...I guess I'll just let you be alone, or something." He turned and walked to the closet where Mina had put his coat.  
  
Mina's eyes widened as she listened to him speak. Tom was right. She couldn't help but love him. She loved him because Dorian used to love her. He used to treat her right, but then he turned his back on her.  
  
"Wait, Tom," She called out to him. She followed him and put her hand on his sodden shoulder.  
  
Tom turned around to face her and raised his eyebrows, waiting to hear what Mina had to say to him. He licked his lips a bit.  
  
"I want you to stay. Do you want some tea or coffee?" She asked with a smile spreading across her lips.  
  
"Coffee would be great," He answered a mutual smile on his face.  
  
The two headed through the drawing room and into the kitchen. Mina and Tom spend most of the night talking about anything and everything. Mina spoke of her encounters with Dracula and her life. Tom spoke of life on the Mississippi, and how he came to be an agent for the American government.  
  
A/N: I have no idea why I started writing this. I wrote it in the middle of the night because I couldn't sleep. I ended up just typing it up the next day, and I'm pretty happy with it. Please read and review. If you didn't like it, just show me where I messed up. Constructive criticism is good. 


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